Facebook users have been spooked into sharing a hoax message warning users to ignore a friend request from someone named 'Jayden K Smith' or their account will be hacked.

Bizarrely, the message itself is the hoax and there is no real danger at hand.

A scammer posted this message: "Please tell all the contacts in your Messenger list, not to accept Jayden K Smith friendship request.

"He is a hacker and has the system connected to your Facebook account. If one of your contacts accepts it, you will also be hacked, so make sure that all your friends know it."

Facebook users have complained on Twitter that they have been inundated with messages from well-meaning friends who believe the hoax.

The Mirror reported that there has been no evidence of a Facebook user called Jayden K Smith, and if he did exist, he would most likely not be able to hack in an account by friending another user.

For a hacker to take control of your account, they would normally need to obtain your password, or persuade you to download an infected file onto your PC or mobile device.

Moreover, any account sending large numbers of friendship requests to unknown accounts would raise a red flag with Facebook's moderators, as this kind of behaviour is against the social network's terms and conditions regarding spam.